Palm trees to be registered

Owners of palm trees should register them with the Plant Health Department within the next 30 days as part of the government’s efforts to mitigate risks posed by the red palm weevil, a deadly pest of date, coconut, oil, sago and other palms.

Plant Health Department director Marika Gatt told a news conference this afternoon that the registration would give the government a clearer picture of palm trees on the island.

The authorities, she said, were fearing there were palms hidden from public view which could be infected.

She said that the department last year received 500 calls of suspicious infections, 193 trees were uprooted and 60 infected trees were currently waiting to be uprooted. Although there were cases of cured trees following intervention, this was mostly effective when it was carried out at the beginning of the disease.

The uprooting of a palm tree could cost from €25 to hundreds of euros and although the government was considering assistance to control the infection, this would only be available to those who registered.

Dr Gatt said that the department was fearing that the Red Palm Weevil could eventually attack the local dwarf palm (gummara), which has up to now escaped infection.